Seaglass

Struggling in the fog of grief, Fern embarks on a journey gradually rediscovering the light that can be found amongst the darkness following bereavement. 

  • Cheryl Blake
    Director/Animator
  • Dan Jones
    Music
  • Laura Dunleavy
    Voice Artist
  • Phoebe Niemira
    Costume
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Music Video, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Stop Motion
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Salford
Director Biography

With a background in music education and performing as a drummer and flautist, Cheryl turned to animation during the lockdown and quickly discovered a passion for animation.

Gravitating towards stop motion animation, she studied with Aardman Academy before undertaking an MA in Animation at University of Salford, Manchester. Using the year to research the use of different materials in stop motion animation, she became particularly drawn to abstract animation on the multiplane.

Seaglass is her MA short film, taking on the role of Director/Animator.

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Director Statement

Following the loss of my mum, experiencing grief and learning to cope with its overwhelming nature became a journey that I'd never planned for. For me, animation became a way of expressing these feelings and Seaglass aims to show audiences that whilst grief can be isolating and all encompassing, there are places where we can find hope again - however small - and that it has a lingering nature even as we begin to find life again. Grief is unique for every person - and Seaglass doesn't aim to dictate the experience of grief, but rather provide a canvas for reflection and comfort for anyone who might need it. 

Failing that, there's a pretty cute goat I like to call Simon.

Seaglass uses mostly traditional methods of puppet and paper animation, but also encompasses a number of new technologies in stop motion - such as the use of virtual production techniques using LED screens for backgrounds.